Carmel Theatre

The Fox Carmel Theatre was located at 8163 Santa Monica Blvd.

Also known as the Paris Theatre, this was located at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights.

The Carmel Theater opened on 19th November 1924. The architect was Lewis A. Smith (L.A. Smith) and was built for West Coast Theaters.

When operating as a successful adult movie house (re-named the Paris Theatre) it was seriously damaged by fire in January 1976 and was demolished.

This theater was called the Paris for more than a decade, at least. I remember it by that name from the early 1960s. If memory serves, at that time it was not showing movies, but was the venue of a long-running, rather risque (for the time) stage show called something like "Les Poupees de Paris" (which the scandalized mother of a friend of mine said was "a dirty puppet show.") I never saw it, alas. I think I'd have enjoyed a dirty puppet show.

Les Poupees des Paris was a Sid and Marty Krofft marionette show originally designed for the 1964 New York World's Fair. They were beautiful marionettes and looked nothing like the costume characters in the Krofft TV shows like Pufnstuf. I know they were still touring a version of Les Poupees in the 70s because I saw a truncated version at King's Island Amusement Park in Ohio. If you search ebay, you may occasionally find the original RCA cast album. The best cut is "It's a Living" featuring Liberace and Jayne Mansfield!

8163 Santa Monica Blvd is the current address of Sushi Zen restaurant.

The Kroffts started in show business as puppeteers. Their "Les Poupees de Paris" adult-styled puppet extravaganza played continuously somewhere in the world for eight years. Les Poupees de Paris went on to become the sensation of the 1963 Seattle World's Fair and played to 200,000 people by the time the Fair closed. When the New York World's Fair opened in 1964, Les Poupees duplicated its Seattle success and during the second year in 1965 played to jam-packed audiences for 12 performances, 7 days a week.

The advertisements for this theater in the long gone LA Free Press used to make my teen-aged mind reel thinking about a gay porn theater in provincial Boston, circa late mid '60s. Little did I know that I would someday become involved with one of the theaters owned by this same person, Shan Sayles, who is a quiet but major player in this entire arena. Many in the adult entertainment world - film maker, actor, distributor, theater operator - owe him a nod for being a pioneer with such accolades as having brought us John Holmes (whose first film was gay) and the seminal gay classic "The Song of the Loon," among oh so many other vehicles, even the punk nighclub The Starwood.

speaking of the starwood,sam cooke was suppose to meet a friend there,but they went over to pjs where he met the hooker who killed him.(sorry for getting off subject but im a huge sam cooke fan)
charlie

I attended the Carmel theatre once after it became the Paris. I saw "Song of the Loon," my very first gay porn flick. It would be rather quaint now, almost soft-core, and probably un-PC. The theatre had wood floors, and I seem to remember the audience was on a raised platform. The place was packed that day; that's pretty much all I can call to mind.

Now that I think of it, the puppet show probably wasn't at this theatre. There was a night club, adjacent to the theatre, which (if I finally remember correctly) was called PJ's. That's where the puppet show was. I think the Paris was still showing movies at the time (early 1960s), but I don't recall what type.

"WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.... the PARIS THEATRE, a highly successful skin flick house was seriously damaged by fire in January. The PARIS opened as the CARMEL, 11-19-1924 in what was then the Crescent Heights tract. It was one of the many neighborhood houses opened by West Coast Theatres during 1924-1925. L. A. Smith was the architect."
- Marquee (the quarterly journal of the
Theatre Historical Society of America), 1976, Vol. 8, No. 1 (OUT OF PRINT)

There is also a listing for the theatre under it's Paris name at http://cinematreasures.org/theater/11105/

Different Paris Theatre, strawberry. The Carmel/Paris was on Santa Monica Boulevard and the other was on Hollywood Boulevard across from the Pantages.

Here is a summary of a 1958 case in which the Carmel Museum theater won an appeal after its business license was denied:

Appellant theater owner sought review of a decision by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which denied his petition directing the county board of supervisors to renew the theater owner's license to operate a motion picture theater.

The theater owner operated a theater in a district frequented by homosexuals. On several occasions, the sheriff arrested individuals for engaging in homosexual activity in the theater. The sheriff closed the theater on the ground that it was a public nuisance. The theater owner applied to the board for the renewal of his license to operate. The board denied the petition and the tax collector refused to issue a license. The theater owner filed a petition for a writ of mandamus directing the board and tax collector to issue the license. The trial court denied the petition and the theater owner sought review. The court reversed, holding that the operation of a movie theater was a lawful business of beneficial character that was not inherently dangerous to the public. The court noted that the theater was not operated in a manner different from that of other movie theaters, it did not show lewd or lascivious pictures, and the theater owner had tried to stop the conduct complained of by the police. Further, the court said, the property was zoned and the building designed for use as a theater. The court held that the evidence was insufficient to support the denial of the license.

This theater, when it was the Paris, was quite ornate inside with a large balcony. It made the Century Theater (on Hollywood Blvd) look like the Jetsons. After the fire, the Paris re-opened for a short time on the west side of La Cienega Blvd. just south of Santa Monica Blvd. When it closed, it became a restaurant. I think its a carpet/rug store these days.

Does anyone have any pics of this theatre?
Matt Spero

Here's an UCLA Archive photo from 1970 showing both the 'Paris' Theatre and P.J.'s on Santa Monica between Crescent Heights and Havenhurst Drive. The Paris/Fox Carmel location now is a 'newer' building that matches the theatre's size and location, but replaces ornateness with white stucco, plus is inhabited by restaurants serving both mediocre Indian food and Sushi. PJs was later the Starwood club, and is now a collection of junky little stores (i live here, and i think they are junky -- yes, a musty old gay porno theatre and attached punk club would be 100% preferable to what we have now.) The train is long gone.

http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/display.cfm?ms=uclalat_1429_b645_262125

BRETT421: Thank you for finding and posting that pic of the old Paris theater. I couldn't remember if this theater was right on the sidewalk or set back a bit. It's hard to imagine this stretch of Santa Monica Blvd. without the current daily traffic gridlock.

I go by there every day on my way to work. The arrow in front of the PJ's sign is at the end of a curving transition lane from Crescent Heights Southbound to Santa Monica Blvd Westbound, which is the aspect of the photo. By the time I was there the trains no longer ran down the street. Not sure whether the tracks had been pulled out yet or not. I second the thanks; it brings back memories.

UCLA moved the photo, but you can search the digital collection for 'west hollywood' or for the title: Southern Pacific freight passing theater and bar on Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, Calif., 1970

-brett

Hey folks... I'm trying to identify this theater depicted in a screen-shot from the documentary "Inside Deep Throat." Could the very colorful marquee belong to this theatre? The film on the marquee was released in early 1971, just to give an idea of the time-frame.

Thanks!

Ed: Yes, that's the Paris, formerly Carmel, on Santa Monica Boulevard. Compare the marquee in this 1970s night shot from the UCLA/L.A. Times archives (this is the same photo brett421 linked to on May 16. UCLA has changed the URLs of its photos and his link no longer works.)

Thanks, Joe! Looks like we have a match!

I moved the image here so that my album was correct - so the old link above no longer works.

Thanks again!

Taken on almost the same spot, October 2007:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/hwdParisTheatersiteOct72007.jpg

Here is a January 1965 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2xln65

Here is a 1970 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2b2gkz

The Commune with Eric Berne and John Chavez was released in March of 1970.

Post-Manson family. Strike while the iron is hot.

Here's an exterior view of the Paris Theatre in 1969: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/laparis69.jpg

Listed as the Carmel Museum Theatre in the 1956 L.A. City Directory (see also ken mc's comment of January 5, 2007, above, citing the same name.)

circa 1975
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/Parismatchbook.jpg